


Perfumed Obsessions

by melissashastings



Category: PLL - Fandom, Pretty Little Liars
Genre: Cece Drake - Freeform, Charlissa, Charlotte Dilaurentis - Freeform, Charlotte Dilaurentis/Melissa Hastings - Freeform, Charlotte and Melissa, Charlotte/Melissa, F/F, Melissa Hastings - Freeform, Melissa Hastings/Charlotte Dilaurentis - Freeform, Melissa/Charlotte
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-06-23
Updated: 2017-09-17
Packaged: 2018-11-18 01:19:52
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 8
Words: 11,929
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11280747
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/melissashastings/pseuds/melissashastings
Summary: "These violent delights have violent ends.""Shakespeare."She paused and looked at the other knowing that maybe she was too blind to see what was in store for them both, maybe they were too lost in what they had to be able to see the future of what was to come. They were young and found their new meaning of what love was. They had deluded theirselves in a self indulgence of each other, they had lost theirselves and the brunette knew that she would never be able to find herself in this mess before it was far too late."Or maybe it is the tale of us."





	1. Perfumed Obsession

“So, is Spencer back in town soon?” The mumbled tones of Ian’s drab voice rang through the younger girl’s ears, she didn’t pay any remote attention to the topic of conversation, she intended on ignoring the man because he already knew the answer to the question he asked so if it were to be a rhetorical statement then where was her input needed? Yet Melissa knew that through the way she was brought up she had to reply out of common curiosity, if she hadn’t done things to help keep her social status heightened, she would have left Ian as soon as she had laid eyes on him. The sacrifices were far more significant than the rewards, which were very little.  
“Yes, she is, you two seem to be getting on very well.” Too well and of course Melissa knew that, Ian was smart but so was she and the fact that he believed he could get away with trying to get with her sister without her even knowing showed that he really played down her intellect. And of course, she couldn’t put blame on someone for having an affair if she was doing the same. All of the paths in her life stemmed from that one night in Cape May. 

-

“You didn’t tell me Alison was going to be here.” The dark-haired girl spoke, her tone completely matching with the look on her face. The Hastings pulled down on her plaid skirt and buttoned her black blazer, her reading glasses sitting comfortably against her chest.  
“Darren, I’m going home if I’m going to have to be babysitting the girl for the rest of the trip, I thought this was our get away and you bring her.”  
The man couldn’t help but smirk a little at the thought of Melissa truly believing that he would have brought Alison to their getaway, he’d spoke many times about how he hadn’t got a single ounce of care for the girl in his bones so Melissa being so oblivious to the reason why she was here was a hilarious sight.  
The pair in question were stood almost waiting for someone to arrive and that was when Alison turned up, the pair had come together this year and usually their social circle was a lot larger but with the fact that Jason was probably stoned and the rest of their friends didn’t have enough money for even the petrol money over, it ended up just being the pair of them. 

“I didn’t bring her.” Melissa’s dark eyes shot to Wilden, not understanding the logic he was spilling. Her flustered face being blocked by the dark curls that surrounded it.  
“Then who did?”

“Cece Drake.” The only person who Alison seemed to follow round like a lapdog, it seemed as if the blonde girl had met her match but then again the reasoning for this Cece bringing Alison indicated that they must have been friends. The girl was almost the double of Ali, he blonde curls tumbling round her shoulder, her overly exaggerated sense of style and slim figure. Melissa studied her as if she were a painting, took in every detail like a story and made sure that she had a vague idea of who this person was. Soon enough she was losing focus and her harsh stare had turned into an intrigued gaze, something that she quickly got rid of when she realised. 

“And…You are?” Her brows furrowed with almost a sarcastic tone, the girl didn’t like others invading on what she had spent most of the year, every year, planning. It was what she did best. Of course she hadn’t closed off the location for her own trip but the thought of people she knew being here already gave her a headache.  
It was her getaway, with her friends, she didn’t want intruders – it was enough having to hide the vacation from her parents and sister without other people spilling their mouths about it. She had spent her time and effort making sure that this would go to plan and as soon as the overwhelming smell of perfume filled the air alongside the clicking sound of the heels on the walkway beside her, the perfection that the older Hastings wanted was soon taken away. 

“Oh I didn’t know that I had to come with my social security number and past work experience, isn’t a name enough?”  
“No-“ Melissa was abruptly interrupted by the male in the situation who had stayed mute for the beginning of their confrontation.  
“This is Cece Drake, she’s Jason’s friend. He told her to come, he was thinking about bringing her into the NAT-“  
Melissa began to tone out the man, something she generally did with the male species as she looked over the blonde girl before her. The smug smirk placed on her glossed lips only made the anger inside her stomach grow even further.

“I’m going to show Cece around.” Alison stated as she felt a friction between the pair that even she didn’t want to get involved with.  
“I’ll see you round Cece.” Wilden said, his cheerful tone trying to break the atmosphere but Melissa stated mute on her farewell statements because she knew this wasn’t going to be the last time she saw the new girl.  
The pair hadn’t even stepped more than several spaces before Cece looked down to Alison, mumbling out “I assume that was Melissa Hastings? Jason was right, she is stuck-up.” The statement followed by echoing of laughter. 

The sense of pride Melissa had in herself was instantly wiped away with a few words, maybe this time she had met her match.


	2. Traditions

A new dawn had broken and with-it Melissa was overwhelmed with a sense of optimism that she had not been able to find on the night prior. Nothing was going to stop her from enjoying the sense of happiness she found in the trip and if the girl was just another Alison, she knew that she would be able to find some way to bring her down. 

The problem that came along with all of that was that whilst the female spent her night tossing and turning, trying to find a way to defeat the girl who had so quickly made her mark, she found herself no ever really finding a way to bring her down. All the girl did was imagine every feature of the blonde girl that she could recall from her memory. She felt as if she had her pigtails pulled but was soon enough not asking for an apology but thanking the same person. Her mind was her best object but suddenly it felt somewhat compromised. 

The day had gone by and nothing had come out of it, Melissa spent her time gazing over the landmarks and as soon as the sun had begun to descend she made her way to the same spot she did every year. Having traditions was something big to the Hastings girl, she found comfort in them and as she stood watching the sunset over the sea with a cup full of Vodka and Cola in her hand she felt finally relaxed. Maybe too relaxed. The girl was only awoken from her daze by another’s faint laugh and out of pure shock she instantly turned to notice Cece standing beside her. It was strange because Melissa remembered that she had sworn this girl as her enemy but upon seeing the smile that danced across her lips that memory suddenly vanished. 

 

“Sorry,” She began as she turned her head away, she didn’t want to end up in another scenario like the prior night and have her sleep interrupted, “You caught me off guard.”  
“Catching Melissa Hastings off guard? The Melissa Hastings? Well isn’t that something that I’ll be able to show off to all my friends.” And soon enough the pearly white smile was back on the blonde girls face and Melissa couldn’t help but feel as if he heart had skipped a beat – it was probably just the frustration that she was getting on with someone who she truly did despise. However, this time Melissa was laughing as well, something about Cece’s laugh was infectious and she had found herself under the others spell.

“I think we got off to a bad start.” Drake stated as she turned to have her back towards the banister Melissa was leaning against, this way she could truly see her without her being able to hide at all. “It was late and I intruded and I should have said I was coming I know but, I just wanted to make Ali smile, and of course you have quite a name for yourself so I had to come and meet you.”  
“My reputation precedes me, so what have you heard about me?”  
“Oh I’d much rather you find that out for yourself.”

All the colour rushed to Melissa’s cheeks at once and she had to bite down on her lip to be able to hide the smirk that lay there.   
Of course, Cece had noticed it, yet she didn’t point it out, she had just made more of a friend in Melissa than she had in anyone. Alison, she sought out to be a friend but only so that she would be able to use her to get through to everybody else, she had big plans for her lapdog but all of that was yet to come. Melissa on the other hand was somebody who was on her level, her age who didn’t use her for her ability to charm men into sleeping with her within five minutes of talking or want into her wardrobe – Melissa was the complete opposite. Cece watched the girl tuck her hair behind her ear, her hands moving with a slight tremble and she tilted her head in complete awe. Never in her whole life had she ever cared so much about another person that an instant click was made. She made a vow deep down in the back of her mind to not let this be the last time she saw the eldest Hastings sister.

“Do you want to make a pact?” Melissa looked to Cece as if she were crazy, a true reflection of how she felt inside. “I hardly know you.” The brunette said with quite a forced laugh.  
“That’s not going to stop Melissa Hastings, I know that for sure.”

“Go on then.” Melissa was too deep into this now to turn back, maybe if her feelings weren’t so erratic she would have been able to call this all off from the moment she saw the other.  
“Meet me. New Year’s Eve. 5 minutes to midnight. Here.”  
“You know the whole place is packed here New Year’s? I won’t be able to see the end of my arm let alone search someone out.”  
“So, is that a yes?”

Melissa had to stop herself from the impulse inside her brain from spurting out a quick ‘yes’ before the other had even finished her remark. She pretended to think it through, to make sure that everything would fit into her schedule.  
“Yes.”  
“Great, now give me your phone.” And without hesitation Melissa was handing her phone to the blonde girl, no questions asked. Upon receiving it Cece’s hand momentarily lingered over Melissa’s and a shiver ran through the Hastings from head to toe.

“Don’t be a stranger.” Cece was already beginning to walk away as Melissa looked down to her phone, feeling sick with both anxiety and a slight excitement that she felt.  
“Hey! You’ve typed this in wrong, you’ve put your name as Charlotte.”

 

“Don’t worry. You’ll find out in the long run, Mel.”


	3. New Years

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> [I walked passed your house again today; I saw Spencer. You're much better than her, you probably know that - Med school boy chose the wrong sister. CD]

As the months passed Melissa and Charlotte were tied together through messages and calls. The girls couldn't spend a day without hearing from the other and even though they didn't get to see each other, it was still enough. Charlotte began to open up to Melissa, she felt as if she had found a trust in her that she wouldn't be able to find anywhere else - like a home she found in a person. 

This did carry on for the pairs entireties, from the Summer of Cape May, through Alison's disappearance just the few months after to the following year when the pair had spent New Years together. They truly felt something special between them, a bond they could find in no other. 

Charlotte found herself truly confiding in Melissa though, she found her telling the story of how she grew up, how she went through Radley and of course how she made the transition from Charles to Charlotte and went by the false identity of Cece to be able to cover up some of the security she had left. As soon as Charlotte had split her past to Melissa, fully exposing every last detail about her life - the silence made her feel as if she was going to be sick. Never before had she cared so much about another's opinion of her, never had she been consumed by what another was going to say she—

"You're incredibly strong." Melissa spoke over the phone and suddenly every thought had been put on pause.  
"What do you mean?"

"I admire how strong you are Charlotte, you seemed surprised at that matter but what else would anybody be able to feel apart from the admiration they have for you increasing."  
It was at that point Charlotte knew that Melissa was different from the rest.

Melissa tried to return the favour, try and tell the other something deep from inside but nothing really came to mind - she had told Charlotte pretty much everything there was to know. Melissa was brought up being prim and proper, she spent her days either studying or helping her mother in whatever she wanted. She was being moulded into somebody who could achieve, into someone who could strive for greatness but something deep down made her want to steer away from that and do the complete opposite.

"I had this boyfriend. Wren." She spoke over the phone on the late night in September. Melissa was sipping a luke warm mug of coffee as she sat in the Hastings barn.  
"He cheated on me, with my sister. I guess that's my sad story, I wasn't that interested anyway."

Charlotte said nothing, she just listened the tones of the others voice were like a lullaby to her ears.  
"I believe Spencer had called me something like a frigid, acted as if I was unable to 'satisfy his needs.'" The statement was followed by a scoff from the brunette as she looked out the window up to her sisters bedroom window - she couldn't blame her sister for what had happened but she still that bit of pain that came across with somebody choosing the younger model over her still shook her to the core.

"The matter of fact was that I wasn't interested him. I was merely just passing time I guess, giving my parents what they wanted."

"You should do things for yourself, love who you want to love not who they tell you to." It was the first thing that Charlotte had spoke into the phone for a while and at first Melissa had completely forgot she was actually there.

 

"Why do you always know what to say?"

 

It was during the beginning of November when Charlotte's text began to start being one sided, she would call and there would be no answer. The blonde girl spent restless nights wondering what had happened to the Hastings sister, she would make sure to walk the long way back to her apartment outside of the town to see if they would cross paths but they never did. 

[I don't know if I have done something that's upset you, if I have I swear to make it right. Please answer. CD]

[I walked passed your house again today; I saw Spencer. You're much better than her, you probably know that - Med school boy chose the wrong sister. CD]

[The nights are so cold, do you have to have the fire on in the barn all the time? I'm trying anything here, I'm talking to you about heating for gods sake - just please reply to me. CD]

[I want to knock on your door, I want to speak to your mother and tell her that I'm your friend. It doesn't matter does it? She won't know who I am. I'm scared that's something's happened to you Melissa. Please. CD]

 

[Merry Christmas. CD]

 

Charlotte couldn't see what was happening behind closed doors, she didn't know about Melissa's rekindled love with her high school sweetheart. Charlotte didn't know about how the pair had run off and eloped not telling anyone until they had arrived back. It was probably a good job that Charlotte didn't know because if she did, she would have never let it happen. 

 

New Years arrived and even though Charlotte was left to wonder if the brunette was dead in a ditch somewhere, she went to their usual place in Cape May, watching over the sunset as people partied into the night. 

As the countdown began, Charlotte started to feel that empty feeling that came along with so many parts of her childhood. She was angered that she ever let herself become this attached but as soon as that thought came into her head she heard the mumbles of a familiar tone.  
It was hard to hear as the countdown was in single digits and the girl seemed to be miles away but the distance was quickly gone.  
Melissa tapped on the blonde girls shoulder, a smile planted on her lips and as Charlotte turned around, her heart dropped.

"Charlotte I'm—"

And she kissed her. 

She grabbed a handful of the brunettes hair, as the countdown had finally reached midnight and they blended into the crowd perfectly. Melissa was froze to the spot. Her lips tasted of bubblegum and the sweet intake of her scent only made the scenario feel ever more from a fairytale. At first the brunette hesitated as if she had been stuck at a crossroads, yet with the seconds passed that felt like centuries she found her hand in the golden locks she'd thought about for so long. Melissa could have never erased Charlotte from her mind and she held onto every second as long as she possibly could. The pairs lips moulded into one and as Melissa no longer made Charlotte feel as if everything was still one sided, the blonde girls hand just gently ran over the others cheek. Her skin was soft, her taste was sweet - it was everything Charlotte had imagined. 

"Happy New Year Melissa." Charlotte whispered softly as their foreheads touched. Everything felt perfect. Even if it was only for a second.

"Melissa?" As soon as the males voice called out for her, the brunette moved away instantly - an impulse making her do so. 

Charlotte was left to watch as the others lips were intertwined with the man standing beside her and she wanted to do nothing more than rip them apart. She couldn't take her eyes off them no matter how hard she tried but this time she noticed how the woman's finger was carrying a huge shining rock.

 

"Charlotte — This is Ian. My—"  
"Husband."


	4. Satisfaction

The following evening, after Melissa had left several voicemails on Charlotte’s phone, she was finally connected. At the exact moment, she was pacing round the Hastings home, she only really went in the house itself if she was with her mother or if it was empty – it was the latter at this moment. Spencer was out with her friends, she told their mother that they would be studying but that wasn’t the case – it was more likely they would be putting their prying noses into her business.

“Charlotte-”

There was a sense of desperation that came with her tone, she didn’t know what was going through the other girl’s mind but she knew what was going through hers. All Melissa could think about was the other – never had her lover ever made her feel the same way the blonde girl had in those brief moments. She couldn’t picture a time where she had spent every moment of the day thinking about one singular moment, it was the true peak of her whole existence. Charlotte was the best thing she had in her life and she was so afraid that she was going to lose her.

“I’ve been trying to ring you for the whole day, I was worried.”

“Well you would know about going rogue, wouldn’t you?”

The silence that Melissa had feared so much had already started, she was lost for words. She wasn’t in the wrong, she was living her life like any normal person would but somehow, she felt as if she had almost killed Charlotte on that exact spot. What Charlotte and herself had was not normal, they were connected by secrets and a sense of security – they wouldn’t call each other friends because they both knew deep down they were much more than that.

 

_“The next person that walks in the room you have to make out with.” It was New Years and the pair had met just like they had promised to. Melissa was weary of the game, she didn’t have any friends outside of Cece, even though she knew the whole room of people it didn’t make her feel any more comfortable. This time the party that they had arrived at was much bigger, it was Eric Kahn’s and because of the name alone nearly the whole of her class had decided they wanted to make the trip this year – much to the Hastings disapproval. Yet there she was, sitting in a circle with the faces she’d spent many years only speaking to through general greetings – all thanks to Cece who thought it would be the ‘best’ idea to play Truth or Dare._

_“I- I don’t think so. Why don’t we play another game?”_

_“Just play the game Melissa.” Cece whispered, her eyes shooting daggers towards her._

_“Can I pick truth instead?” She watched as Ian Thomas rolled his eyes and Eric interrupted the game to get his question in._

_“I have one.” Almost everybody looked to the older boy and Cece just smirked this time her casual lean was more calming as she whispered, “He’s cute.”_

_It must have been when Cece had leant into the girl on the first time the Kahn boy had come up with his question._

_Of course, Melissa was feeling quite on edge since she had changed her option, she had been brought up having to tell the truth no matter what the cost and even though this was just a game, it was no different. A Hastings always tells the truth, a Hastings would always do what’s right._

_“Hurry up Kahn.” One of the members of the circle spoke, she wouldn’t have been able to recall their name, information like that she found useless and didn’t bother to remember._

_“I’m just taking away the actual sense of having to /do/ something. If you had the choice of having to make out with anybody in this room, who would it be?”_

_And the question made her skin crawl, she felt the hairs on the back of her neck stand on edge – her stomach filled with a plague of sickness. Cece was giving her the same stare that she had only a few minutes prior, the girls hardly knew each other but it was so obvious that the blonde had a hold over her._

_“Oh my god Mel-“_

_“Cece.”_

“I’m sorry.”

“What for?”

Another silence.

“You can’t apologise if you don’t know what you’re apologising for Melissa.”

“I don’t know! Getting married? Having a life? Being able to have something that you don’t have? Being the normal one?”

Melissa spat out the words and they didn’t mean anything as they left her mouth but as she thought about what she said, as she let it soak into her mind – she understood how harsh they had come out.

“Because I’m not normal?” It was the first time she had ever heard what sounded like hurt in the others voice, it was almost impossible to recognise her. The front had come down, the powerful stone hearted female who didn’t truly care about anything and now Melissa had wrecked all of that with a few words, meaningless words.

“You know I didn’t mean that Charlotte.”

“Goodbye Melissa.”

 

Charlotte was hurt, deeply hurt but she overplayed the situation much more than it needed to be. She had done it for the attention, for the drama that came along with it but when she seemed to fall out of contact with Melissa – her whole plan had failed. She was once again left with nothing, nobody – she spent endless days staring at her phone waiting it to light up with the girls name but it never did. She felt sick to the core, with Melissa she could have had the world – but Ian stood in the way of that.

 

_“Did you mean what you said that night playing truth or dare?” Melissa had awaited the question from Cece from the moment they had left the party but as soon as it came up she could already feel herself start to sweat. They were walking through mounds of trees, Cece always stated that this was the way home but Melissa never actually got to walk her to the door – maybe it was an issue with her parents or something. She wondered what Cece’s parents were like, she wondered if they were as good to be around as she was._

_“It was just a game Cece.”_

_“And you’re a Hastings, you don’t play games if there isn’t some happy outcome to them – a sense of victory at the end. You didn’t answer my question; did you mean what you said?”_

_“I don’t mean to be quite up myself but I think Ian Thomas was looking at me tonight – you don’t know what would do to my reputation if I got with him.”_

_Cece’s face was filled with anger at the mention of another person’s name at a time where she herself felt so vulnerable. The Drake girl understood actions better than words and she was soon enough pushing the other against the nearest possible tree. Their eyes were locked and Melissa was completely speechless._

_“I asked you if you meant what you said.”_

_“Yes, I did.”_

_It was on the outskirts of Rosewood, where the two girls who had a slight bit to drink shared their first kiss._

 

The weeks began to pass and Charlotte moved on in the best way she could, she tried to hook up with whoever boosted her ego. She had already lost Melissa once already and now it seemed that she had lost her again, at least this time she wasn’t going to let that happen to the full intensity it did before. She wanted her back.

The girl spent weeks tracing the pairs movements, she was intent on doing whatever it would take to get Ian out of the picture. Whatever it would take.

Melissa was happy yet Charlotte wasn’t. It wasn’t a fair enough game, a level playing ground. She wouldn’t let the high school sweetheart take away what was rightfully hers. She watched as the pair announced their pregnancy, she watched as they sat in coffee shops together and she even heard about how Melissa’s little sister and her friends had got the older man involved in their business. There was one time when she was watching the eldest Hastings where for a second they made eye contact for the first time in months. Neither broke it quickly and as Melissa did the voicemail that followed on the evening only proved that she was still Charlotte’s for the taking.

 

_It was late in the evening and Melissa had been drinking – she understood the counter arguments of how it could affect her child to be but she needed something to numb the pain. She’d been humiliated by her husband when finding out about he had paid interest in her younger sister. She sat in the bathroom, the bottle of wine in her one hand and phone in the other and she rang the only person that came to mind, of course it went to voicemail. Charlotte was in bed with a part time fancy of hers when she saw the name on her phone screen._

_“You need to go now.” Charlotte stated as she immediately walked to the other room of her rented apartment._

_“You’ve reached CECE – Leave a message and I’ll get back to you – If you’re important enough. Peace!”_

_“Hello. Isn’t that such a strange way to start a conversation, hello? I mean, we’re here, well I’m here. I don’t need to greet you into the conversation – it’s strange, right? Huh. I have an interesting fact for you, something to add to my sob story, my husband has been using me to get to my younger sister. Funny, right? Well I mean, he says he’s with me now but how can you believe someone when they’ve been sucking on the lips of the girl you taught to sing the alphabet. I guess I just have a thing that makes men want to throw themselves onto whoever walks into the room next.” She began to laugh. “It’s Melissa, if you forgot – or removed my number.”_

_“Do you remember my voice? I still can remember yours. I guess by ringing you, I know this is my low point now – no offence to you but me ringing you, my ex- Whatever you are.”_

_There was a large pause and an overexaggerated sigh._

_“How are you still the only thing that occupies my thoughts? You’re just stuck in there. I saw you today, did you see me? Probably not. Do you miss me? Ha, I miss you. Oh god, that’s not what I’m supposed to say is it? Goodnight my sweet Charlotte.”_

It was a staged suicide and a convincing one at that, nobody would know that Charlotte was even there – it was exactly what she wanted. Now to wait.

 

It was around 3 weeks later when Melissa was knocking on Charlotte’s door during the night. Charlotte was alone as she had been since she had committed the crime, she wanted her sole purpose to be Melissa again.

“I know you don’t want to see me.” Melissa was already choking out the words between sobs before Charlotte had barely even managed to get the door open. “But I don’t have anybody else to go to.” Charlotte had never given Melissa her home address but at this time she wasn’t about to question it.

Instead, Charlotte wrapped her arms around the woman’s frame telling her how everything was going to be okay as she led her inside making sure that nobody around the roaming corridors had noticed them both.

 

The pair lay on the sofa, Melissa’s body draped over Charlotte’s clinging onto any sense of comfort she could find. The brunette told her all the details of what had happened and Charlotte had to nod along pretending that she wasn’t the one behind it and hadn’t been following it up ever since.

“Then I lost the baby. I really did love him.” But that one was new and it was Charlotte’s doing as well. Maybe she hadn’t thought this through as well as she should have but now she was in far too deep to go back on her actions.

“I’m so sorry Mel.”

As Melissa had consumed the conversation, hearing the other speak sparked her interest and slowly she pushed herself up off the sofa to be able to see the others face. Melissa should have been sorry, she pushed Charlotte away with no warning, yet clung onto every feeling that came along with her. She never cared for Ian as much as she had for Charlotte, not even for a second.

“You told me once that I should do things for myself. That I should love the person who I want to, not the one that’s expected of me.” Charlotte couldn’t remember but she nodded along nevertheless. “That does sound like something I would say.”

“Maybe it’s time for me to take your advice.”

Melissa placed a hand on either side of the woman, straddling over her. Her lips were on the others and she was hungry for what she had spent the months missing out on. It was like everything began to move in slow motion, as if the world had just stood still and they were the only people left on it. No matter how much she wanted to return the affection Melissa suddenly had and for a second she did but then Charlotte pulled back whispering a soft, “I don’t think we should do this Mel everything that’s happen-”

“I want this.” And Melissa persisted nevertheless, her hand reaching up the back of the blonde girls loose fitting t-shirt trying her best to unclasp her bra with the one hand that she had free.

“Are you sure that-”

“I want you Charlotte, It’s always been you.”


	5. Compatibility

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “If he keeps looking at you like that, I’m going to kill him. I’m not even joking.” Cece rolled her eyes but tonight Melissa was in a much more playful mood, maybe it was because she decided to take up drinking as a new hobby. All eyes were now on the girl who had turned from preppy nobody to the girl everyone wanted to be or be with and that was all thanks to Cece

_Melissa and Cece sat on the drinks table at another Eric Kahn party. Ian Thomas had been glancing over repeatedly at Melissa making Cece feel ever so slightly jealous. Of course, Melissa wasn’t engaging in any returned looks, she bit her lip and try to repress the laugh she had stored at the back of her throat._

_“If he keeps looking at you like that, I’m going to kill him. I’m not even joking.” Cece rolled her eyes but tonight Melissa was in a much more playful mood, maybe it was because she decided to take up drinking as a new hobby. All eyes were now on the girl who had turned from preppy nobody to the girl everyone wanted to be or be with and that was all thanks to Cece._

_“Doesn’t it make you feel a sense of warmth to be proud of what you have?” Melissa asked, she stood in front of Cece as the girl’s legs wrapped around her causing more eyes to look over._

_“I’d feel a greater pride if I got to tell people that you are mine.”_

_“Secrets are so much more fun than reality though Cece, what we have is too extraordinary for just anybody to be able to look at.”_

_Of course, it was an excuse but it was the right thing for both, if anybody found out they would find a way to destroy what they had let alone if their parents caught on. Cece would probably be thrown back into an empty room in Radley and Melissa shipped off to a higher education boarding school. They didn’t want to lose what they had so it was best just to keep things as they were._

_“People are staring at us.”_

_“They’re probably just as lost in your beauty as I am.”_

_“How much have you had to drink?”_

_“Enough to know that I’m just telling you what I would want to say when I’m sober.”_

_“Come on, let’s get out of here.” Cece took Melissa’s hand in hers and headed out of the party, it wasn’t her style anymore, anyway._

_“Where are we going?” Melissa’s voice echoed through the rooms, volume wasn’t something she could control at the moment – Cece was sure she could use that to her advantage._

_“Anywhere that I can get you out of that dress.”_

Charlotte was in bed reading a novel at the middle of the day, her eyes focused in taking in every word. Melissa was wandering round the room, wearing an old t-shirt of Charlotte’s that had a small hole in the sleeve. It clung round her frame perfectly, that’s what Charlotte had told her anyway, and with the smell of the other that clung onto it – Melissa decided it was going to remain a keepsake forever. Every sight, smell, touch, everything reminded her of the night that fell before. She leaned against the frame of the bed and looked towards the girl who had screamed her name merely hours ago. She looked at which parts of her hair that she had messed up, she smiled at the radiant glow that came with her naturally. She couldn’t put it into words just yet, but she was sure this was love.

Melissa threw herself onto the bed, looking up to the other – desperate for attention that she wasn’t getting. The tables had turned and Melissa found herself being the one chasing the other, something that she didn’t like to do at all.

“I can’t think of a piece of literature that is more compelling than I.” Charlotte rolled her eyes at the comment, placing the book open against her chest. “I was wondering how long the peace and quiet was going to last.”

Melissa threw herself into a tantrum, she wanted to be fought for, she wanted the constant attention, she wanted what she had dreamed about. She was being selfish but she had lost everything, she was finding it hard to rebuild herself with nothing. Maybe she was being a tad overdramatic but that came along with her personality.

“Because now I’m just another cause of noise pollution for you?”

“That’s now what I said Mel.”

“If you want me to go then-”

“Don’t you dare.” Melissa hadn’t even moved and Charlotte was racing from her position to reach out for the girl. “Don’t you dare leave me again.”

Melissa stared over the girl in complete awe, she had never truly realised the damage she had done, she had never realised the hurt that she had caused. Charlotte’s hand was on her arm and her face was paler than she had ever seen before. She couldn’t get used to this, seeing what Charlotte was really like and what was all a perception. Charlotte felt a tad embarrassed, her eyes diverting into any direction that wasn’t Melissa’s but the brunette had her finger under the others chin, directing their gaze towards one another just to take every detail in of how fragile she was deep down.

“I’m not going anywhere.”

 

_“How come we never go to your house?” Melissa asked as they sat in her bedroom, the house was empty as her parents had gone on a long weekend break and Spencer was stopping at whoever’s house._

_“It’s a dump.” And a mental institution but of course, that detail didn’t need to be stated._

_“I’d still like to see.”_

_“It’s out of the question.”_

_“Do you not trust me?” Melissa tilted her head in a puppy like manner, the question rocked Cece because there was no way out of it._

_“I trust you.”_

_“I don’t care if your house is a dump, it could be a literal dump for all I care.”_

_“Please just drop it, you’re so infuriating sometimes.” Cece shouted, glaring over as Melissa froze. Never had the anger that she had just witnessed ever come out before._

_“Me? You’re like a lapdog, you’re nothing without me.” The impact Cece had made in her life finally came back to bite her. Of course, she didn’t take it well._

_“Where are you going?”_

_“Anywhere away from you.” Cece looked at Melissa and shook her head. “Don’t miss your lapdog too much.”_

The following evening Melissa had returned home only because the amount of missed phone calls and worried voicemails she was getting made her feel as if the world thought she was going to follow in Ian’s footsteps. It was getting later and Melissa decided that she wanted to stop with her family, the comfort was not as great as what she felt with Charlotte but it was enough for now.

“I miss you too.” Melissa whispered down the phone trying to be discreet as she possibly could. “I know. I’ll be back as soon as I can.” As soon as she hung up a figure loomed behind her. “Who was that? Her younger sister questioned as she sat opposite her. She hadn’t even been back a night and a full interrogation was taking place.

“I didn’t know that was any of your business.”

“Was it Ian?” Melissa’s face was full of disgust, partially to think that people would think she would use false tears over him.

“No, it was not, it was…Somebody else.” Suddenly Spencer had much more of a sisterly approach to the situation.

“Is that all I get to know?”

“It’s just, it’s not going to work out – that I know for sure. We’re complete opposites.”

Spencer’s face was full of confusion as to why her older sister would take interest in someone who wasn’t going to be her Prince Charming.

“You don’t really sound compatible.”

“We really aren’t.” Melissa burst into laughter. “We don’t suit just one bit.”

“But you’re here, telling me about them because-”

“Because I don’t care if it doesn’t work out, I think this is my only shot at love.”

 

_“I thought you didn’t like Eric.” This time the pair had come separately to the Kahn boy’s party and Melissa had spent the past 15 minutes of her evening watch Cece shove her tongue down the boys throat – she knew it was probably aimed at her._

_“And I didn’t think you would go for Ian Thomas but here we are.” Cece looked the Hastings sister up and down, the mutual sense of warmth between them had run cold. “Now I should be carrying on where I left off-” Cece headed back towards Eric but was soon pulled away again._

_“Sorry, Cece can I have a word?”_

_“You can have two, f- Ow!” Melissa grabbed the girl’s wrist pulling her to the nearest room that was empty where they could speak by themselves – of course it turned out to be the bathroom._

_“I know you’re doing this to get back at me.” Melissa stated as if it were plain as day, she locked the door behind them both so that nobody would interrupt them._

_“And if I am, so what? I can do what I like, you don’t own me.” But how she wishes she did, Melissa would have done anything for that superior power. “You’re with Ian anyway.”_

_“Ian means nothing to me you idiot, are you that blind?”_

_“You’re really winning me over here Melissa, keep going and we’ll see how much longer you can treat me like shit.”_

_“Treat you like- Are you mad? How would you say that when you know exactly what my feelings for you are?”_

_“And what are your feelings for me Melissa Hastings, pray do tell.”_

_“Oh for god sake Cece, I love you.” And the only thing left to fill the room was the echoing of a mumbled song seeping through the walls._

_“You, what?”_

_“I’m not repeating myself.”_

_And they were teenagers and clasped onto what they thought was love in the dirty bathroom of the party that night. Melissa to the present day could remember how Cece pushed her to sit on the bathroom sink as she shredded her of her clothes. Charlotte had remembered how Melissa peppered kisses all the way from her neck to her waist. Nothing about that night was forgotten, especially as Cece followed by saying, “I’m not sure what love is because I have never truly been shown it before but I am almost certain that I feel it for you.”_

_It was good job that they had locked the bathroom door._

“Do you remember this song?” Melissa stood half naked on the night she had returned to Charlotte.

“How could I ever forget?” Charlotte’s arms wrapped so tightly around her frame, placing her lips down softly on her shoulder. “It was the night you confessed your undying love to me. And you gave me a mark on my neck that I couldn’t even cover with makeup, you used to be so wild back then.”

“I was merely a child.”

“You still are.” The pair stared at their selves in mirror.

"These violent delights have violent ends." "Shakespeare."

She paused and looked at the other knowing that maybe she was too blind to see what was in store for them both, maybe they were too lost in what they had to be able to see the future of what was to come. They were young and found their new meaning of what love was. They had deluded their selves in a self-indulgence of each other, they had lost their selves and the brunette knew that she would never be able to find herself in this mess before it was far too late.

"Or maybe it is the tale of us."

 


	6. The Truth

In months passed, the secret that the pair shared remained the greatest thing in their lives. They discussed the backlash of what would happen if the world found out about them, they discussed how everyone would ruin the perfect thing they had. The relationship turned from love to pure need, mainly on Charlotte’s side – she truly believed that if Melissa left her she wouldn’t be able to survive another day. She thought about how Melissa could one day walk out of the door and the thought consumed her, it began to drive her to insanity and having to keep those thoughts locked away was one of the hardest things to do. She was scared every second of everyday.

 

_Melissa had been called back to Rosewood for Spencer’s homecoming dance seeing as she was Homecoming Queen some years prior, it was an honour of course to always be able to outshine her sister at any given event. The girl had headed straight back to Charlotte’s after she had made her grand entrance and exit, she’d told her family about how she was stopping with friends for a few weeks – it wasn’t a complete lie._

_Melissa knocked on the door still dressed head to toe as elegantly as she could possibly be – another attempt to try and out do her little sister, it was a fun game. Charlotte took her time to open the door and as she did a smile ran across her lips, beaming ear to ear._

_“I am so pissed that I wasn’t at your prom now. Get in here.” She motioned her in with her finger bending towards her taking a step back each time._

_Charlotte was a tease, then again so was Melissa so usually things ended up being a lose-lose situation until somebody made the first move._

_“You look so...Hot.”_

_“I know, I was told by muttered breaths of people who were nearly half my age.”_

_“You have a variety of people to chose from then.”_

_“But here I am.” Melissa shut the door behind her leaning against it, watching every single move of the other. “And for as long as I am alive, you’ll be waiting and I’ll come running.”_

_Charlotte closed the gap between them, pressing her lips against the woman’s ear – “I will always wait for you Melissa Hastings, always.”_

 

Things started to go downhill at the beginning of one morning conversation, maybe if Charlotte could have looked back to that morning she would have pretended to be asleep for an hour or two more.

“Did I tell you-” Melissa began as she turned to look at Charlotte, tucking a piece of her golden hair so delicately behind her ear. She studied Charlotte, how perfectly every single last inch of her body was, how her eyes were not fully opened because she was never used to getting up so early every morning. She was in awe, she would never be able to put into words how she wanted to spend the entirety of her life just placing kisses over every inch of her bare body.

“My sister, those text she was getting – I was a little out of the loop but I got the inside scoop from my dad after hours of pleading but I found out more.”

Charlotte felt uncomfortable in her own skin, she moved slightly away from Melissa but nodded trying to listen to what she was saying to benefit herself. “Do tell then.”

“Mona Vanderwaal, this girl from their school. Same age. She’s been checked into Radley, strange, right? I mean, what would delude this school girl to attack other girls for nothing but jealousy? I can’t say I disagree with her though, the things I would do to Alison Dilaurentis for making me look like a fool for years on end, Spencer, well that war has been going for years, the rest of them are as bad as each other.”

Charlotte listened, she listened and she understood how much pain these girls had brought to her life. She pressed her hands over the woman’s skin, not being able to look her in the eyes as she spoke about something she had thought about for so long.

“Sometimes karma works in the strangest ways.” Charlotte shrugged off her words a little bit, she didn’t want this conversation to go on any further and maybe Melissa could see that as she tilted up the womans head so they could actually keep eye to eye.

“You’re right, you’re always right.” She whispered before kissing her to make sure she knew the conversation was over.

 

The pairs legs were intertwined as they lay on the sofa watching whatever black and white movie Melissa had chosen this time, maybe Sunset Boulevard or something like that. Charlotte never before had an interest but since it was something Melissa enjoyed, she put every last ounce of effort in to make sure she could try and learn to love it.

“Can I ask you something?” Melissa was laying her head on Charlotte’s chest, slowly turning around to look at her.

“Anything.”

“What’s in that room, over there?” Melissa’s arm reached out to the door beside Charlotte’s bedroom, well their bedroom now, that always remained locked.

Charlotte felt her whole body go numb and Melissa watched as the girl who invented so many lies, mind ticked over trying to create her next great façade. It hurt her to think that Charlotte believed she would be so easily fooled over like everybody else.

“It’s some things, from my time at Radley. I don’t really like to talk about it because its just a horrible reminder.” She faked a sigh, it was easy to know, Melissa knew every single thing about this woman – or so she believed.

“Why don’t you just throw them away?” She asked with a tilted head, running circles with her fingers over the girl’s waist trying to throw off how much she was prying.

“Because sometimes Melissa, its good to have something to remind you of your past, of a time where you were worse off because it shows you how strong you have become.”

Melissa agreed knowing she was not going to get anything else out of her, “I love you. Don’t ever forget that.”

 

“We’re out of coffee.” Charlotte was in the middle of getting changed when she heard Melissa’s shout from the kitchen. The blonde girl walked into the room pulling on her shirt. “I’ll go and get some, I’ll get two cups instead of that shit I have in the cupboards.”

“Bring me back a present as well?” Melissa raised a brow, she had an intention of always getting more than she deserved.

“Am I not enough? But sure, whatever you want my _princess_.”

 

 

As soon as Charlotte left, Melissa waited til her footsteps were no longer heard. She searched the whole of the apartment, searching high and low for a key to the door that so many secrets hid behind. She threw out the contents of every drawer, she felt as if she was one of those possessive spouses who accuse another of cheating. Maybe she could be. Maybe Charlotte was cheating on her. Her mind was racing and soon enough she gave up, pulling a pin from her hair and using that instead. She learnt in camp how to make use out of things that you have on you rather than what you need. It took a few seconds but she was in, then she regretted ever opening that door in the first place.

 

She stood in the centre of the room.

To the left of her there was a huge board with hundreds of pictures on it, words, phrases. She saw her sister, she saw Alison, the rest of the girls. She saw Mona, Toby, many faces. Then she saw herself. She saw how she was connected to only Spencer, Ian, her parents and Wren. She saw the picture of herself from Cape May many years ago. She saw how there was a cross over Ian’s picture, how there was a circle around Wren’s. She had to stop herself from looking.

To the right of her there was a wardrobe, she opened it slowly. It was full of black clothing, hoodies, trousers. She picked up one of the four hoodies and smelt it – it smelt of her. Sweet. A scent you could lose yourself in. She closed her eyes for a second being taken away from the whole of the scenario.

In front of her there was a child’s dollhouse, she examined it. The many little characters inside that she had created baring a resemblance to one of the Rosewood girls.

The whole room it was something out of a novel, she could imagine taking a book from her shelf and finding herself wrapped up in a mystery like she was now but the difference was that with this one she couldn’t just close the book and escape.

She must have lost track because soon enough Charlotte was home and the girl was stood clinging onto the fabric of the black hoodie she had found staring towards the other.

For a moment, there was complete silence.

They just stared.

Moments like this Melissa had never imagined to be real, she didn’t think that people would just pause like they did on television or movies, time did not pass that slowly, one person would always break the ice. But here she was. Proving herself wrong.

It felt like eternities were going by right before her eyes.

“I can explain.”

“I don’t know what there’s left for you to say Charlotte.” It had just come to mind that she was still in pyjamas, hair a mess, she wasn’t quite ready for the perfect exit.

“Please Melissa.” She threw down the cups of coffee and two bags she was holding, seeing Charlotte in this state was what Melissa had imagined by the phrase ‘a deer in headlights.’ Charlotte reached out for her but she flinched in reaction, she didn’t want to be touched – not by her.

“You killed Ian.”

“Melissa I-”

“You took away my life, my life without you. Without all your insanity. You took away my husband. You took away my child. You took away everything good I had in my life and replaced it with you. You tried to fill a void that could never be replaced.”

“You told me you loved me Melissa-”

“You killed my unborn child!” The eldest Hastings screamed. Her eyes teared up as she looked away from Charlotte to try and regain any ounce of strength she had left. Charlotte could do nothing but try to keep herself together, she had imagined this day but somehow she thought that maybe Melissa would be understanding. She would see the reason behind it all.

“I’m messed up Mel. I made a mistake.”

“I hope your mistake gets you locked up never to be seen again.” She threw the clothing at her and grabbed her few things she deemed as a necessity.

The words had made the blonde choke up with tears because out of everyone, Melissa was the only one who didn’t see her as crazy – who saw her as an actual human being not a mental case, she was the only person who loved her.

“You can’t leave, I’ll die without you.”

“Well, I’ll make sure to spit on your grave.”


	7. Desperation

Charlotte had worked herself into a state of insanity, she found herself constantly staring at her phone and going to the state she was in when she found out Melissa had moved on with Ian. Melissa, no matter how surprising it was, found herself in the exact position as Charlotte. She didn’t stop with her parents, the state she was in would have brought up too many questions. And the pain that they both felt didn’t get easier over time. Melissa didn’t ever go back to Charlotte’s apartment for her things, she was too worried about what the consequences of seeing her face would be, Charlotte didn’t dare move one of Melissa’s possessions. They were stuck in a cycle like two stubborn children…But with murder and torture added on.

With every partner she had, Melissa had been cheated on, humiliated, forced to make up a protective barrier around herself that was an extra inch stronger. Then there was Charlotte. Sweet Charlotte, a childhood fantasy and real life fairy-tale. She had killed, she had inflicted pain, for her. For Melissa. Melissa went over the details so many times and each time she felt more and more admiration for what the girl had done for her.

 

A month or so Melissa was having coffee with Spencer, they’d made this pact to try and keep in the know with each other so they wouldn’t break whatever ‘bond’ they had. Of course, Spencer didn’t have a clue that the bond they had was fake and Melissa would throw her under the bus in less than a second if she had to, but she had secrets to keep and while she was in Rosewood it was best to keep some connection. Spencer had been going on about how truly incredible it was to have Alison back, Melissa had wished she would have stayed dead but her opinion she kept to herself.

 

“This girl, she used to be Alison’s friend, she opened up a shop in town.” Melissa wasn’t interested in the conversation in the slightest, she sipped on the coffee that was now going cold, she pushed around the half-eaten muffin that was blander than anything she had ever tasted. How she wished to truly be rid of this town.

“She’s called Cece. Cece Drake.” And suddenly Melissa’s interest had come all at once. “I thought you may know her, there’s a picture of her with Alison and Wilden at Cape May, it was the Summer you were there.”

“I knew her, a long time ago. We crossed paths. She’s in town?”

“Yeah, she has this boutique, I spoke to her the other day. She mentioned you, that’s why I brought it up. Said you used to be pretty close. Strange how you only said that you crossed paths.”

“We weren’t friends, maybe I should go and see her to remind her of that.”

 

It was the night after Melissa’s conversation with her sister when she went to go to the address that she’d stated. It was a pretty obvious building in the centre of town, it was nearing midnight but the light in the apartment above was still on. Melissa pressed the button for the intercom, it was followed shortly by a high pitched voice that sounded quiet surprised to hear someone pressing the button.

_‘Hey it’s Cece, what’s up?”_

“Charlotte, it’s me. Let me in.” Melissa hadn’t even finished speaking when the door unlocked and she headed up the small staircase to be met by another door. Charlotte slowly opened it and she looked exactly like she did many years ago, she could close her eyes after taking one glance at her and picture herself back at Cape May falling in love with her all over again. Her cheeks were pink, lips glossed, maybe if she wasn’t dressed in black from head to toe she would have looked perfect. Well, to Melissa no matter how much she denied it she always would.

“Melissa, I-” She was startled and that matter was hardly surprising. Melissa pushed passed the woman and stood in the middle of her new apartment, she didn’t like it. It was pretentious, it wasn’t cluttered and almost falling apart like the small space they had shared together.

“You won’t succeed without me, you won’t pull any of this off. You’re only one step in front and you’re an easy suspect. I’m a suspect now too.”

“I don’t understand what you’re telling me.”

“I’ll join, your team or whatever it is. I will be by your side no matter what step you take next, no matter what you do. I will be there every step of the way. You told me you needed me, you said that you would wait. I’m here. I’m ready.”

“Why would you do that for me?”

“Because I love you. I hate you, probably more than anything but I love you. I am consumed every second of every day by you. I can’t breathe. I can’t think straight. I try to move on but it’s never going to work. I want you, I need you.”

Charlotte found herself speechless, she found that she couldn’t breathe in this situation she had found herself in because it was the only thing that she had dreamed about since the second that Melissa had left.

“Don’t you want me?” Melissa asked with puppy eyes, her frown making Charlotte feel even more guilty.

“More than anything.”

And in that second the space between them grew smaller, Melissa grabbed a fistful of Charlotte’s hair to try and dominate whatever power she had over her. They kissed like they had never kissed before, this time it wasn’t something they would look back on and cherish. It was messy, Charlotte’s hands clawed at Melissa’s clothes as if every second she couldn’t see every inch of her was a second that was going to kill her. Their lips didn’t meet perfectly, the need that consumed them took over and it wasn’t perfect – it suited them perfectly.

“Bedroom, now.” Melissa panted between sloppy kisses that were received on her side. Charlotte did nothing but nod like an eager puppy immediately following what the woman had said.

The desperation grew to extreme levels, Melissa found that more of her clothes were on Charlotte’s floor than actually on her, her back was marked with the small scratches of the other who had tried to leave a mark she wouldn’t forget. Melissa had been thrown onto the bed, the tables had turned once again and Charlotte was still the one in control – she liked it that way. The world had stopped spinning for a second as Charlotte’s hands were on the other’s waist, she stared at her – watching what was hers. She marvelled at the fact that she truly did own the Hastings girl, that no man would ever be able to give her half of what Charlotte could.

“Are you here to watch me or fuck me?” Melissa glared and as soon as Charlotte made any indication of moving she forced her to stop, going again what she had previously said.

“Keep that on.” She indicated to the woman, after getting undressed she slipped it back on.

“A kink of yours?”

“Yes.”

It wasn’t love, it was anger.

At least it was a start.

 

Charlotte woke to see Melissa sitting up, her head in her hands.

“Regret?” Was all that Charlotte asked, reaching a hand out to her.

Melissa turned, a smile on her lips and it felt as if everything had carried on from where they had left off. “No, no it’s not that.” She lay back down next to Charlotte and ran her finger over the girl’s lip. “I’ve missed you.”

“You left Mel.”

“I had good reason.”

“I know. But you’re back.”

“I am.”

“And you’re staying?”

Charlotte’s hand held on to Melissa’s, she pleaded, she would have begged if that’s what Melissa would have wanted.

“I am.”

 

 

Melissa walked into Charlotte’s apartment making sure that she had never been seen on the way up. Charlotte was lying on the sofa as Melissa walked over to kiss her, a habit that they had got into so quickly – showing affection at any given time.

“I missed you.”

“I was gone for a day.”

“It was too long.”

Melissa rolled her eyes, rising to her feet as Charlotte did the same.

“I have something to show you.”

 

The pair stood in Charlotte’s bedroom, Melissa’s eyes were covered by now Charlotte’s sweating palms.

“I just know that obviously hoodies would suit you but I wanted you to wear something better than that, something more you.”

She took her hands from Melissa’s eyes.

“I call it _Black Widow.”_


	8. Game Over

_Game over._

 

The game had come with danger and even though that was hot, heated and insanely cut throat sometimes it wasn’t the ideal way to live. There was something about constant danger, exposure, the sense of never being able to know what was around the corner that didn’t sit right with Melissa and if Melissa was remotely unhappy Charlotte would do anything in her way to make her happy again. She understood a long time ago that the only person in the world she had was Melissa and she couldn’t bare to lose her. Melissa began to wake in the night, her clothes soaked through in a pool of sweat screaming out about whatever was clouding her judgement on that night. She brushed it off many times but there was only so much of hearing someone you loved in constant pain that Charlotte could deal with.

“You sure going public is the right idea? Why not just stop and that’s it, just go off the radar? We go off the radar, together we get a nice house somewhere and-”

“I don’t want to live that way, this is how it has to go.” Melissa knew in that instant things weren’t to end well, it took Charlotte much longer to find out.

 

Melissa remembered listening to her sisters, her sister’s friends, her mother, her father, the whole damn town talking about how much of a monster Charlotte was. How she deserved to be locked away and have the key burned, some talked about how she herself should be burned. Charlotte took full blame, she would have never dropped any detail of Melissa involvement. When the truth was revealed Melissa fled for London for a period just so she didn’t have to hear the name of the person she loved being tarnished constantly while she stood there not being able to do anything but nod and agree. She couldn’t ever speak up and say she was at blame to, she couldn’t state how most of what Charlotte had done was because of what she had caused her to end up like, she couldn’t ever gain the courage to be the person she wanted to be.

Melissa tried to go into Welby three times with three different names when Charlotte had been moved there, but apparently Charlotte had stated she didn’t want any visitors. It was like torture, maybe that was the karma she deserved. She watched the same woman sit in the waiting area at the reception of the facility every time she was denied access. On the third time the older woman approached her as she was heading for the door.

“Your friend will come around. Or if you have the deepest feeling that you think they won’t, maybe it’s time to give up.”

 

Melissa had been completely blocked out from Charlotte’s life, as if she never meant anything to her. She’d even let Alison visit, she was always with her stupid doctor who seemed to use his privileges to extreme measures but of course, Melissa had been left behind. Like a toy that had been played with till Charlotte was bored.

  

-

“Alison, I was wondering when you were going to turn up.” The blonde girl sat, her hair tucked behind her ears looking as close to innocent as was possible for her. But it wasn’t going to be a sisterly conversation on this day and Charlotte wasn’t going to have her ego boosted by the other blonde who just wanted her home.

“Not quite.” And Melissa had also changed, her hair was much shorter, her skin slightly darkened from her months travelling and her dress sense had improved with the amount of money that she began to pocket. “I thought the art of deception would be the only way to get through to you.”

“Melissa, you shouldn’t be here.” Charlotte’s words hit her as if she were pleading, she wasn’t looking as if she was happy to see the woman she supposedly loved but frightened if anything.

“Why shouldn’t I? I’ve been dying to know.”

“You cut your hair.”

“And yours is considerably longer. Probably due to the matter of fact they wouldn’t trust you in here even looking in the same direction as a pair of scissors. Are we going to just stand here and talk about differences in one another because I can assure you I have changed. A lot. Or are we going to talk why you’ve been blocking me out for the past two years.”

“I was trying to make some space between us.”

“Why?”

Charlotte’s eyes darted across the room as if the truth was something that she couldn’t quite grasp onto whilst Melissa was in the same room as her.

“I’m getting out of here soon. It’s still you and me Mel if you want it to be.”

“I don’t even know you anymore Charlotte.” She knew the Charlotte she had left behind, but this was not her. She could barely recognise the girl she used to love. Used to love, the change in tense. Something that had changed in Melissa’s life. “You acted like we were nothing. Like you never knew me, like what we had never existed.”

“I just didn’t want to get hurt.”

“To get hurt? You broke me Charlotte. You totally screwed me over, you told me we were in this together. I read into every action, every word I said before you left thinking that I’d done something wrong. Thinking that I was the one to blame. But it’s always been you, you and your mind that always wanders not far enough to care about anyone but yourself and your own wellbeing.”

“If that’s how you feel.”

“Are you kidding me? You don’t even give me anything still? I really do miss the Charlotte I first met, the one who wore pink lip-gloss and spoke about taking over the world. The one who wouldn’t never treat me as if I was a stranger.”

“I’m sorry.”

“It’s not enough this time.”

 

_“But it was Charlotte.”_

_“I feel sorry for Alison but I can’t help but say I’m relieved.”_

_“At least we can walk through Rosewood without having to see her face.”_

_“That’s harsh.”_

_“Harsh? She shoved us in a dollhouse Spencer, maybe this is just karma working.”_

_“I guess you’re right.”_

_Melissa remembered hearing the news, she was sat having come back from London a few days prior deciding to work for her mother for a while, and of course for Charlotte. She knew she was set to be released from Welby after the years that had passed. She had stayed even after everything they had been through. She still waited after everything._

_“I just can’t believe she’s dead.”_

 


End file.
